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Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 009.
During today’s podcast, I share my journey to living a debt free lifestyle. It was not easy to learn to live below our means, but the benefits to doing so have been truly tremendous. Not only have I been able to stay home and raise my eight children, but because we lived below our means, we were able to fund the growth of our family business.
Being financially able to grow the business so quickly allowed Jim to join Goat Milk Stuff full time. Now all ten of us work together. This wouldn’t have been possible if we were still in debt.
If you are struggling financially, I encourage you to listen as I offer ideas and tips that can help. If you are currently on the path to debt free living, I hope that our story truly encourages you and keeps you working toward your goal.
Please leave me a comment and let me know if you’re desiring to live debt free or already are!
Thanks for listening! Please join us next week as we discuss being in control.
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Your podcasts always encourage & inspire me, PJ!
First off, God bless you & all the stay-at-home moms who make the sacrifices you do to remain in the home with your children. I understand it’s not always possible for every mom, as there are many single and/or widowed moms or wives w/ disabled husbands….but for those who already have one income in the household and are willing to make the sacrifice, I say you are a woman after God’s own heart!! My siblings & I were blessed to be able to have a stay-at-home mom, too. It’s a sacrifice I appreciate.
Currently by God’s grace & blessings, my husband & I are debt free. That’s not to say we live on easy street, but thankfully our needs are met. My husband is our sole provider, and even though we don’t have any children (not by our choice) I choose to remain in the home. I worked for a little while, which was nice, but the jobs hours weren’t comparable with my husband’s hours on many days. When I did get home in the evenings I was too tired to cook a good meal, so we ended up eating out a lot…. not to mention the gasoline I spent (& more mileage on our vehicle). Don’t get me wrong, the job was nice, I enjoyed my working environment, but I just valued being at home more where I could devote time to our family life. (Here’s where I also say God bless the women who can juggle working outside the home and can still keep a tidy house and nourishing meals cooked for their family!) In the past I had babysat for a family, which was nice, too. Even though the pay wasn’t as much, I didn’t have to use gasoline, and I was here when my husband got home from work.
Anyway, I know that if I choose to go back to work I could, but I’d rather we budget and sacrifice so that I can stay at home. One thing that has helped us specifically is to never charge more on the credit card than we can pay off at the end of the month. Also, we use a rewards credit card that earns points (same as cash back) so we can roll this ‘free’ money over onto household items we need, personal items (vitamins, health, etc) or to treat ourselves to a DVD or CD from Amazon. We charge practically everything….utilities (that don’t have an extra charge if paying by credit card), groceries & gasoline. But we pay it off each month, and earn the card’s rewards as well. We also try to use coupons when we can. That has helped.
Some things we budget by the month, and some by the week. We budget groceries weekly, as well as gasoline. We budget the cash we carry (for my husband’s lunch money, etc) by taking the same amount out each payday. One thing that’s really helped us lately is trying to eat healthier, and only buying enough food each week to prepare for a set amount of meals. We buy less junk food when we know wexactly what we’ll be eating for the week, and we can focus more on how to include fruits & veggies with our meals (you encouraged me there, PJ!).
We’re still a work in progress though, as I need to strengthen myself in the area of frivolous spending, and instead try to save money. Even a little bit saved per month or per payday would be better than nothing. I just need to do it, and you have encouraged me with your podcast today!
I’m sorry I’ve written so much, but I just wanted to share my experience as well as say “thank you” for helping me make positive changes in my life (and my husband’s) by the help of your podcasts, PJ. It means so much to have the encouragement we need at the right time, and God has sent that by way of you! 🙂 Looking very forward to next week’s podcast! 🙂
Hi Jonie,
That’s awesome that you are living debt free! Good for you! It is such an encouragement to me to hear that there are other people out there living below their means.
And thank you so much for taking the time to continually leave me comments. It is so encouraging to know that the time and effort I put into the podcasts is making a difference!
PJ
Great podcast today lady! I’ve been actively seeking the Lord on how best to leave the workforce earlier rather than later and of course all that is hinged on becoming debt free. Your suggestions really hit home and I plan on implementing many of them little by little so as not to send the husband into immediate shock. Haha. Please continue to pray for His grace and wisdom as we step forward in faith knowing this is what we need to do to. Thank you for your encouragement and willingness to help us. Grace & Blessings!
~Julie & John Dayton
That’s wonderful to hear, Julie! It’s a lot of work, but it is something you’ll never regret! I’m glad that I could give you some practical ideas and I hope that you reach your goals as soon as God wants you to!
PJ
I love listening to you
Thank you!!!! And I love talking to you. LOL 😉
PJ
When I graduated college, I had a LOT of debt, and very little money. For several years, I chose to ignore my debt. When I turned 26, I decided I wanted to buy a house, but because I had chosen not to deal with my problems, I had very bad credit.
Over the course of two years I slowly paid off all of my debt, excluding my student loans. It was very, very difficult, and I struggled and had to make many sacrifices. After those two years I was finally able to fix my credit and buy a house. Yes, a house is “debt”… but it was a goal of mine to own my own house and I’m very proud of where I am today. My only debt is my house and my student loans.
I’m much more careful and conscious of how I spend my money today, which allows me to afford the things that are most important to me.
Love your podcasts, so glad I found you! 🙂
Hi Bethany,
Good for you buckling down and paying it off! That’s wonderful. And you are so right, when you go through that experience, you treat money so much more carefully.
For me, one of the many reasons I wanted to pay of our mortgage was so I can afford to travel with the family. I want us to be able to go places and see and learn things that we could never afford to do if we were still paying the mortgage.
I’m glad you reached your dream of buying your home (and I’m glad you found me too! LOL)
PJ
Hi Bethany,
I too was in a good financial position with just a house payment and school loans. Then I got sick, and lost everything, and am now in a lot of debt. PJ-your podcasts are very helpful, thank you!
Angela
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Hi Angela,
I’m so sorry that you’ve had to go through all of that. Life is so not easy sometimes. I’m glad that the podcasts are helpful and I said a prayer that you would get healthy and get back on your feet soon.
PJ
thank you for putting up that great talk! i think your video is great.
from Rosie, age 9
Thanks, Rosie! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
PJ
This is so important. My situation is a little tricky because I am unemployed but I want to be debt-free. I have three year old twins and would love to find a way to work from home.
Just keep praying and working hard – you’ll get there! I hope you find something just perfect for you! 🙂 PJ